Try, Buy, Dream – March 2025

Trying a car has never been easier – lots of car brands now offer subscription services on a monthly basis, with no down payment or exit fee so you can swap in and out of different models with minimal notice. Or you can lock in for longer, on a leasing deal, which still means you just pay a monthly amount and hand the car back at the end of the deal. Additionally, some brands provide 24-hour test drives for a chance to get to know the car before you commit.
Then there’s the Buy choice, whether it’s paying for the car in one hit or signing up to a fixed term finance deal with the option to buy the car at the end. These are cars that make good long-term sense. And finally our fave section, for dreamers everywhere. The new luxe stuff, the wishlist option or the treat yourself splurge, depending on how big that imagined windfall might be. Enjoy this month’s offerings!

Big, boxy and brutish, the Hyundai Santa Fe has real road presence – mainly because it’s absolutely massive. With seven seats and acres of interior space the Santa Fe is much more premium than its predecessors and we reckon it’s one of the best SUVs currently on sale. Whether it will fit onto your driveway is another matter. However, Hyundai is currently offering 24-hour test drives which should give you plenty of time to work out how to manoeuvre it into place and if you go for a top of the range Calligraphy model you’ll be able to park it using the key fob so you don’t even need to be in the car.
Find your Hyundai Santa Fe at Auto Trader

Compact crossovers come in a variety of flavours, but they all tend to ride higher than a hatchback while remaining small enough to be easy to park. With many newcomers including the rugged looking Jeep Avenger, the all-electric Volvo EX30 and the hybrid Lexus LBX adding to the long list of well-established options there’s something for everyone. This brings us nicely to the Seat Arona. If you aren’t won over by fancy displays with twirly graphics the Arona could be the one for you. While it may seem old-school, the Arona has a reassuringly straightforward set up, offering a more engaging driving experience than many cars of this type and for this reason it’s our pick to buy this month. Go for FR trim if the addition of sport mode appeals.
Find your Seat Arona at Auto Trader

To complete this month’s SUV theme, we are dreaming of the Land Rover Defender OCTA. This is like the regular Defender only meaner with even more power and beefed-up styling. In our world of imagination we can plough through the countryside, splash through rivers and race up mountains guilt-free, leaving no damage in our wake and with a magic fuel tank that’s never empty – a win-win. So, while the reality of this brazen and brash beast would leave us in financial ruin and destroy any attempts at being sustainable, in dream land we can make the most of this impressive feat of engineering with a totally clean conscience.
Read our review of the Defender Octa and find your Land Rover Defender at Auto Trader

Try, Buy, Dream – February 2025
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